Kim claims maiden pro title at CIMB National C’ship
KUALA LUMPUR: Kim Leun Kwang held his nerve to beat Amir Nazrin Jailani in a sudden death play-off to win the CIMB National Championship and secure his maiden professional title at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East course in Bukit Kiara here yesterday.
For his feat, Kim received the competition trophy from the Chief Executive Officer, Group Commercial Banking and Group Asset Management & Investments, CIMB Group, Effendy Shahul Hamid, and pocketed the winner’s purse of RM30,000.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve been looking for my first win for a very long time and I finally did it. It was crazy, Amir played really well and gave me a good fight.
“I’m a bit brain-dead right now and I guess I was on the lucky side. It’s not easy to see a golfer threeputting from close range. I feel for him but I’m happy I’m going to be playing in the CIMB Classic,” the 23-year-old from Kuala Lumpur told reporters.
Kim and Amir Nazrin concluded their competition on identical four-day total of 12-under-par 272, forcing the winner to be decided by a playoff.
“In the play-off, I saw Amir hit it over the green and I was worse off in the trees and had to cut the ball by some 30 yards or otherwise I’d be out of bounds. I pulled it off and I’m really happy to be the last man standing.
“It has taken me a long time to get this win and there were some struggles over the years but I knew it would come someday. I’m really happy now. Having my first win and getting my reward to play in the CIMB Classic is amazing,” added Kim, who turned professional when he was 17.
Kim noted that he walked outside the ropes as a spectator in the last two CIMB Classic tournaments and dreamt that he would one day have the opportunity to compete against the PGA Tour golfers.
“When I was younger, I did dream about playing in a PGA Tour event...I just want to learn from the PGA Tour players. When Gavin (Green) played here a few times, I’d come out to watch him as he’s my best friend but it’s going to be different this time, I will be the one holding the club and I’m going to enjoy it for sure,” he said.
Apart from this week’s winner earning a spot, the highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Oct 1 will also earn the right to play in the CIMB Classic.
The competition from Oct 11 to 14 features an elite field of 78 players comprising of the top 60 available players from the 2017-18 PGA Tour FedExCup points list, eight sponsor exemptions and the top-10 available players from the Asian Tour.